4. Chapter Four
Chapter Four
Parker
“Well, well, well... Look who decided to finally show up.” Mia laughs as I step through the door of the coffee shop. “How nice of you to join us, Parker.”
“Hey now, it’s only been a couple of weeks.” I shrug. “You’re acting like I’ve been MIA for months.”
“You might as well have been,” Weston says, taking a seat beside Mia and John, two of our good friends.
“Oh, shut it,” I snort, pulling out a chair and taking a seat. “I went and visited my mom for Christmas.”
“Does your mom have a new boyfriend yet?” John asks, shooting me an amused look. “Seems like every time we talk, she’s found a new man—that she claims is the one . ”
“Ha, ha,” I comment, my voice flat. “No. Thankfully she doesn’t. I think she’s finally given up on her pursuit.”
“She has terrible taste in men,” Mia says, letting out a sigh. “But her heart is in the right place. She’s a romantic. You gotta admire that.” She takes a sip of her coffee and shrugs. “I wish I had her courage.”
“Uh, I don’t.” John shoots her a weird look. “Considering we’ve been together for nearly three years and you’re my fiancée ... I don’t really know how to take that.”
She giggles, winking at him. “I’m just messing with you, babe.”
Vomit.
“Anyway, my sister got engaged,” I say, changing the subject, sort of. “To that guy she met in college.”
“Ah, the on-and-off-again guy?” Mia looks intrigued.
“That’s the one.” I grimace, rubbing the back of my neck as the barista brings us our coffee. “He proposed to her on Christmas morning. I don’t know what she sees in him, but for some reason that I still don’t understand, she keeps taking the loser back.”
“The millionaire loser,” Weston points out. “I could probably overlook a few flaws for that kind of bank account.”
“That’s so shallow.” John makes a face. “No wonder you’re still single. You’re never gonna land a woman with that kind of attitude.”
Weston chuckles. “It’s just a joke, man. ”
“Love shouldn’t be determined by finances,” Mia chimes. “I got with John when he was living in that decrepit apartment in the Bronx—with six roommates.”
“And it was rat-infested,” John adds.
She shudders. “Don’t remind me.”
I laugh. “I know. I was one of those roommates. It’s rough to be a fresh college graduate living on crumbs.”
“But look at us now,” John says, pushing his dark-rimmed glasses up his nose. “We make quadruple what we started at.”
I nod. “With a decent retirement.”
“Which is why I think it’s about time we set the wedding date.” John looks over at Mia, a gaudy smile on his face. “Don’t you?”
Her face lights up. “Really?”
“Yeah, and I’ve been looking at some places on the Upper East Side. With the raise I just got, we could comfortably afford them.”
I swear, it looks like Mia is about to pass out from excitement, her blue eyes blazing and cheeks growing red. I block them out, my eyes shifting to the window and out across the dark streets.
“Dude.” Weston elbows me. “What’s wrong with you tonight?”
“Nothing.” I shift my gaze back to him. “Just been a long day, I guess.”
“It’s your sister, isn’t it?”
I shake my head. “Britt’s always gotta learn things the hard way. But she never listens to my advice, so I’m not getting involved in her terrible life choices.”
“You should see a therapist,” he says, his tone flat. I can’t tell if he’s joking or being serious, but either way, I’ve seen plenty of therapists over my lifetime with all the divorce and dysfunction in my family. And while I’ve come a long way, I know I’ve still got some issues...
“So,” Weston continues when I don’t reply. “There’s another singles event tomorrow night that I signed the two of us up for.”
“ Ooh! Really? What’s this one?” Mia exclaims. “Y’all know I used to love going to those. As a small-town girl from Texas in the big city, I couldn’t figure out how to connect in this place.”
“And it’s a good thing you went to that one in Soho.” John nudges her. “Otherwise, I never would’ve gotten my five minutes to shoot my shot.”
“See.” Weston elbows me again. “It does work.”
I roll my eyes. “These two are an anomaly, and you know that.”
“It was just meant to be.” Mia sighs, looking up at her fiancé. “I knew it the moment we—”
“Okay, that’s enough,” I cut them off. “We’ve heard the story a million times.”
“What’s one more?” John chuckles. “But really, what event did you sign up for this time?”
“It’s the one where you go on four thirty-minute blind dates,” Weston answers, and my insides internally catch on fire with dread.
“You didn’t seriously sign me up, did you?” I groan, running my fingers through my hair. “Those events are the worst. Thirty minutes is way too much time to have to spend with someone— four someones.”
“Oh, stop being such a turd about it.” Mia waves me off. “One of these days, you’re going to stumble upon the right person, and it’ll all be worth it.”
“Uh-huh.”
“I don’t know how you’ve made it this far with such a gloomy, freaking outlook on life,” Mia adds, pursing her red lips.
“I don’t have a gloomy outlook on life,” I correct her. “I’m actually really freaking happy with my life, thank you very much. I’m just a realist when it comes to relationships , and I don’t want one.”
“But yet you keep going to dating events,” Mia shoots back.
John chuckles. “She’s got a point, you know.”
“That’s only because Weston needs a wingman. Plus, the event organizers work really hard to make sure there’s an even number of people. Which means, if I don’t show up, I’ll make their lives more complicated. I don’t want to do that.”
“Sounds like a convenient excuse to me.” John bursts into laughter.
“I think, deep down,” Weston says, “we all have the desire to find love. Whether you care to admit it or not.”
“Oh boy, here we go,” I grumble, leaning back in my chair. “I think this might be my cue to go home.”
I’m joking. And honestly, as hard of a time my friends like to give me, I love them. They’re like the family that I always wanted—my chosen family.
Unfortunately, my younger sister and I aren’t super close, though we do keep in touch more than some. I typically only see her around the holidays, but we check in on each other from time to time. We have a trauma bond, as my therapist would say.
My parents were as toxic as they come, fighting and bickering nonstop throughout my childhood. I’m pretty sure things got thrown, but I was too busy distracting Britt from the noise to know the details. And then, after their messy divorce...
They became serial daters.
There’s nothing worse than having people constantly coming in and out of your life for the last decade of your childhood.
But my friends, especially Weston, have been there for me through some really dark times. Which is also part of the reason I keep letting him drag me to these silly singles events. I couldn’t care less about relationships, but I know he does. And he deserves to find love.
“So, how’s work?” John’s voice snaps me out of my thoughts. “I heard you got promoted recently.”
“Yeah! I’m officially a senior software engineer,” I answer, smiling for real.
“ Ooh! Look at you.” Mia beams. “I’m happy for you. You work really hard, Parker. You deserve it.”
“Thanks.”
“And there’s nothing like having your best friend as your boss,” Weston adds.
“Nothing like getting to boss you around all day,” I joke, chuckling .
“Are you doing anything to celebrate your promotion?” Mia asks.
“Well, I’ve been eyeing some VIP concert tickets to see TM Guy.”
“Nothing like seeing a jazz band for fun.” John makes a face. “I don’t know how or why you do that to yourself.”
“It’s soothing ,” I reason. “And the last time I checked, you enjoyed it when I took you to that show in Harlem.”
“He’s not wrong,” Mia points out. “I believe your exact words were: ‘ Your life was forever changed .’” She laughs, then turns to me. “Who are you going with this time?”
“Uh ... nobody.”
“What?” She shakes her head. “You can’t go alone!”
“I do a lot of things alone. I really don’t mind it.” I shrug.
“Yeah, but don’t you get tired of that?” Weston jumps in. “It’s gotta get old going to things by yourself all the time.”
“I’ve been doing it for most of my life. I guess it’s just become normal for me. Besides, I don’t really know anyone who appreciates jazz music the way I do. I mean, aside from my dad—he’s the one who got me into it. I considered inviting him, but ... you know how he can be.”
John frowns. “Didn’t he get arrested for picking a fight with another concertgoer the last time you two went?”
“Yeah, and the guy was like twenty years older than him. It was horrible .”
“Oof, yeah, maybe don’t take him,” Mia chirps. “Maybe you could find a lady who likes jazz? That would be like your soulmate. ”
I roll my eyes. “So, we’re back on this now, I see.”
“No.” She giggles. “We’re not. I’m just saying that maybe if you found someone who was interested in jazz, then you could go to concerts with them.”
John purses his lips. “I disagree. I think he needs to find someone who’s the total opposite of himself. Whatever the opposite of jazz is needs to be what his soulmate likes. Parker needs that kind of balance in his life.”
“Mmm, sure.” Mia nods. “Maybe you’re right, but she needs to be the kind of girl who’s at least happy to support his love of jazz by going to concerts with him.”
“Agreed.” John looks at her with a grin. “Great minds.”
“Think alike.” She winks at him.
Vomit. Vomit. Vomit.
“Anyway,” Weston interjects, giving them both a look. “You’ll both be happy to know that when I filled out the application for the blind-dating event tomorrow night, I wrote down that Parker likes jazz music. So maybe he’ll get matched with someone who also likes jazz music.”
“Oh, perfect!” Mia giggles. “I hope you find the one at one of these shindigs, Parker. I really do. I think it’d lighten you up a little. Just because your history is explosive with heartache doesn’t mean your future has to be.”
“And that’s why you’re a family counselor and I’m not,” I say, blocking out the advice. I’ve seen the devastating effects of bad relationships firsthand, which is exactly why I keep my distance from them.
I’m quite self-aware.
I know I have issues...
I also know how to avoid getting hurt.
“Well, we better get going.” Mia looks at John. “I’ve gotta be at work early in the morning.”
“I know, I know,” he says. “You never let me forget when you have an early shift at the hospital. I don’t want to keep you from your beauty sleep.”
“Thank you.” She beams, pushing back from the table. “You two have a good night.”
“Night, fellas,” John says, patting my shoulder as they walk around the other side of the table and head toward the door.
“Night,” Weston and I call back to them.
My best friend then turns to me, a grin on his face. “Tomorrow night will be fun. I guarantee it.”
I grimace. “We’ll see about that.”